This invention relates to the cleaning of magnetic tape contained in a cassette, without removal of the tape therefrom.
It is well known that magnetic tapes used in computers, and in video and audio recording, must be kept free from particles of oxide or foreign matter. When such particles accumulate on the tape, especially on its oxide surface, they adversely interfere with the signal efficiency of the recording and reading heads of the recording device used in conjunction with the tape. This is so because proper contact cannot be uniformly maintained between the recording, or read-out, head and the tape. This, together with the erratic interposing of particles of oxide or foreign matter between the heads and tape, is likely to impair the accuracy of recording and reading.
In the past, devices have been used to clean magnetic tape in a cassette, without the necessity of removal of the tape therefrom. Such devices however, have been capable only of cleaning tape in one type of cassette, reel to reel or continuous loop. Some such devices have not provided ready replacement of the cleaning means or have been of complicated design.